COLOMBIA Luz Fierro (extended ferment process)

Luz Divia Fierro and her husband Elpidio grow coffee at their finca El Meson, located in the vereda of Berlin, in the municipality of Acevedo, Huila. Both Luz and Elpidio have nick- names by which they are known to their nearest and dearest; Luz goes by Sandy and Elpidio goes by Pillo. The couple inherited the farm from Pillo’s father Ángel, who is also a coffee producer, and farms in a neighboring vereda.

El Meson’s soil is mostly loam, with a few pockets of sand. There is an area of protected forest reserve on the property, as well as a waterfall. The coffee plantation starts at 1,650 m.a.s.l. and ascends to approximately 1,700 m.a.s.l. The landscape is mostly hilly and steep, with parcels of flatter land. The family employs five workers to carry out non-harvest chores such as weeding and fertilizing, the latter of which they do three times a year with both chemical and organic fertilizers. During the harvest season they employ up to 15 pickers from the departments of Cauca and Tolima, as well as a few locals, to carry out the careful, hand-selection of the Pink Bourbon cherry. After the cherry comes in from the fields, Pillo carries out the post-collection processing himself. The harvest is put into large tanks that are filled with water in order to “float” the coffee and remove any debris or damaged and/or green cherries. The cherry then remains intact for 24 hours. The next day, Pillo de-pulps, and ferments the Pink Bourbon beans for another 38 hours in tanks. He then washes the coffee once and puts it out to dry on his rooftop-style dryer for 19 days. In order to deliver his family’s coffee to Cadefihuila’s Pitalito point of sale and warehouse, he hires transport or sometimes enlists the help of his father.